December 23, 2004
DOC MCGHEE REJECTS BACKING TRACKS REPORT
(from Kissonline)
KISS manager Doc McGhee has rejected a Rolling Stone magazine report suggesting that KISS regularly use backing tracks in concert to recreate the studio sound of their albums.

In an early November article published in the magazine, Rolling Stone quoted a concert-industry source as saying, "A lot of the heavy acts do that [use backing tapes] - they thicken up the guitar sounds when they play live. KISS has backing tracks galore."

In a letter to the magazine published in its latest issue, McGhee responded to the article with the following:

"During the nine-plus years that I have managed KISS, they have been adamant in their commitment to performing all of their more than 500 concerts without backing tracks, samples or any type of instrumental or vocal augmentation. The sole exception was when 'Beth' was sung by the drummer to a prerecorded tape, and the rest of the band left the stage to avoid misleading the fans. Having built their career on their bombastic live shows, KISS to this day believe that the demands of a high-energy show are neither a valid excuse or alibi for the use of canned music or prerecorded singing by any live act."
[Comments]

December 23, 2004
GENE SIMMONS IN THE TOP 10 LIST OF WORST ROCK STAR ACTORS
(from Irish Examiner.com)
Madonna's often-criticised movie career has landed her a new title - as the Worst Rock-Star Actor of All Time.

While the Michigan native has enjoyed phenomenal success as a pop superstar, Madonna's efforts on the silver screen have been met with an icy response from both critics and fans - most recently with her embarrassing flop Cast Away.

Music magazine Blender, which conducted the poll of 25 stars, says: "Invariably cast as an irresistible femme fatale - Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy, Susan in Desperately Seeking Susan - yet cannot 'do' sexy.

"Instead, she adopts the glassy-eyed expression of someone on a cocktail of prescription drugs and delivers her lines as if reading aloud from the letters of a stalker."

The Spice Girls landed in 19th place, Mick Jagger at 17th, Sting at 24th and Ozzy Osbourne at 21st.

The top 10 is as follows:
1. MADONNA
2. BOB DYLAN
3. MARIAH CAREY
4. JON BON JOVI
5. ELVIS PRESLEY
6. BRITNEY SPEARS
7. VANILLA ICE
8. NEIL DIAMOND
9. GENE SIMMONS
10. MASTER P
[Comments]

December 23, 2004
KISS EXPO MEXICO 2004 REPORT
(from Ftancisco Trejo)
Believe it or not, in México, we have recently celebrated the very first KISS Expo; It was a triumph because we talked about it on August when Josef (from Austria) and me, were introduced to Kiko Riojas by Memo Buhl (drummer and manager of Tribute band Besso) and Jorge Justo (a great Collector of Tribute recordings and related kiss participations), we talked about it,  finally Kiko decided to support the project with the logistic of his bar and museum; we started to really work in the very first week of November, searching support from Firmas and giving flyers and Posters, visiting Radio stations and other estrategic places.

Finally on Friday 10 Dec 2004, Eric Singer arrived to the city and next day early on the morning,  he went to the place where the expo was going to take place: Eric  checked sound of the drums set, and finally after all the dealers  preparated the tables and the sound and the video screen were ready,  the gates of the KISS Lounge were open, it was a madness, every body runnig around the place, old friends of many years were meeting again and some make new friends, sudelly Eric Singer took place in a table and told to the presents, “Any body goes out here with out a sign and a picture” and he was patiente taking time to chat a little with fans, stroking hands, holding and kissing the beatiful fans, and signing and takin pictures with each fan, Eric was 7 and half hours taking time with fans, he is a nice guy, meanwhile people from diff media were around the place making interviews, the well known was “Radio 13 AM” a radio station that was visitng table by table of dealers... People was taking pictures and video of the KISS Museum and were impress, but the night was taking place and finally at 9:00 O’clock, the time was to “Besso” (KISS in spanish, but with an extra “S”), at the beginnig they  were nervous and exiting that were making some little mistakes, so Eric was polite and told the audience “Please understand they have never played with me before, so please understand and we come to have fun”, they started the show jamming with Eric, the following songs: “Deuce”, “Strutter”, Nothing to Losse” (Eric on vocals), “Black Diamond” (Eric on vocals),  and “Love Gun”, then Eric Took Place seeing Besso play “I want to see these guys” he told to the presents and he was happy to see a tribute band to play songs that KISS never would play live; “Charisma” (KISS Mega hit in México), “All american man”, “The oath”, and other kiss classics, but he was impress by the set list, strange to Europe or USA Konventions.

Every body was happy at the Konvention every body was with a smile on the face and also Eric.

Eric gave to me an interview to this site and to Radio Etiopía, that interview is going to be aired next January, so after we broadcasted it, we are going to insert it on this site, thanks to Eric Singer and let me mention some people that wa s important in this event:

Kiko and Betty Riojas, Conrado Zuckermann, Josef Von Osterreich, Ivan and Andrea Romero- López, Lupita “Singer”, Chucho KISS, Jorge Justo, Memo Buhl, and the trobute band Besso (guys now you achived a goal in the life, and then? You have now the responsability to achieve more goals, congratulations toAlex the best Physic image and good player, Memo you have also a good physical image like catman)
[Comments]

December 21, 2004
KISS TO PLAY "ROCK AM RING" 2005? UPDATE
According to the the promoters of the "Rock am Ring" festival, KISS will be headlining the festival on June 5th, if they will be playing there. The promoter fully understands, that Kiss is not a band to play during daylight. A following indoor tour is in the works, but not confirmed. Again, there are negotiations, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
[Comments]

December 21, 2004
KISS IN YOUR FACE AND BEYOND
(from the KISS board)
The following info was found on the board a few days ago and should be officially announced in the coming days:

TOMMY THAYER IS CURRENTLY FINALISING THE PRODUCTION OF "KISS IN YOUR FACE AND BEYOND"

A DOUBLE DVD SET THAT CHRONICLES THE 2004 AUSTRALIAN CLUB SHOWS. THE SHOWS IN MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY WERE FILMED AND TOGETHER THEY MAKE DISC ONE OF THIS DOUBLE DVD SET. SHOT in 16/9 WITH DOLBY DIGITAL SOUND AND A DTS SOUNDTRACK THIS DVD WILL FEATURE MORE THAN 20 RARE KISS PERFORMANCES IN THEIR CURRENT LINE UP!

DISC TWO BRINGS US AN EXCELLENT 48 MINUTE DOCUMENATRY ON THE PREPARATIONS FOR THESE EXCELLENT SHOWS AND A HOST OF BONUS FOOTAGE TAKES YOU BACK TO THE DAYS WHEN KISS PLAYED CLUBS IN THE EARLY 70'S INCLUDING RARE BLACK AND WHITE FOOTAGE OF KISS IN THEIR PRIME ON ONE OF THEIR FIRST CONCERTS ASWELL AS THEIR RISE TO THE TOP OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS WITH CONCERT FOOTAGE OUT OF THE BAND'S PRIVATE ARCHIVE. SCREENFORMAT WILL BE 16/9 ON THE DOCUMENTARY AND 4/3 ON THE BONUS FEATURES. DISC 2 WILL HAVE A DOLBY DIGITAL STEREO SOUNDTRACK (2.O)

THIS SECOND DISC WILL MAINLY BE A TEASER FOR THE UPCOMING "KISS ARCHIVES DVD SERIES" TO BE RELEASED NEXT YEAR.
[Comments]

December 17, 2004
KISS TO PLAY "ROCK AM RING" 2005?
The promoters of the famous "Rock am Ring" and "Rock im Park" festivals in Germany have announced some bands today (Iron Maiden and R.E.M. amongst others), who are confirmed for this event in June 2005.
They have also announced, that there are "promising negotiations" with Kiss to play at the festival too. Those events are attended yearly by over 100.00 fans. Kiss headlined the Rock am Ring/Rock im Park festivals already in 1997.
[Comments]

December 15, 2004
GENE ON RITA COSBY SHOW
(from makesomenoise.co.za)
The family of slain DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott has requested a "Kiss Kasket" (photo) for Abbott to be buried in, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons revealed during an appearance on Fox News' "The Big Story Weekend Edition with Rita Cosby" on Saturday (Dec. 11). The coffin features the faces of the four founding members of KISS, the KISS logo and the words "Kiss Forever". A transcript of Simmons' appearance on the program follows:

Rita Cosby: Gene, it's great to see you, my friend. I wish it was under better cir*****stances.

Gene Simmons: Thank you, thank you

Cosby: Now, I understand there was something special. This just came down recently. Darrell Abbott's family requested something sort of special tied with your band. Tell us about it.

Simmons: Well, I wasn't really prepared to talk about it, but the family requested, as a personal issue between the family and the grieving people who are going to be there, to send a Kiss Kasket. We initially did it as a promotion. And you know, I think it meant a lot to Darrell when, you know — when he was alive, he gave lots of people great joy. I mean he had the band tattooed onto his chest. He was a major figure in rock and roll. He's going to be greatly missed. And the family wish — you know the one last wish they had was that he be buried in a Kiss Kasket. And I think it's a private matter for the family and the fans actually.

Cosby: No, and I think that's beautiful that that's happening, too, because I'm sure, it obviously, as you said, meant a lot to him. How big of a shock was this? You know this guy really was a legend and so well respected in the industry. How big of a shock was it to you, Gene, when you heard what happened?

Simmons: You know it's about as shocking as it can get. The unfortunate thing is that the media will tend to sort of look at the visuals, you know, the flying hair and the crazy look and all of the over- the-top stuff, which is what performing is all about. But people forget that underneath all of that, actually, Darrell was a very, very sweet guy, very upstanding, very quiet in his own way, immensely talented. PANTERA was a very, very important band. And I'm sure all the fans are going to miss him very much. I know I do.

We — KISS played at the stadium in Argentina and we invited PANTERA to join us. And it was one of the highlights of any of the tours we have ever played. Darrell was just a sweet guy.

Cosby: Gene, how vulnerable are you guys to fanatical fans like this mad man who did this horrible act?

Simmons: You know people often forget that the word "fan" actually comes from the word "fanatical". Most people are very nice. Most people respect your privacy. But here's no secret, most celebrities check into hotels under pseudonyms and the reason is not because I don't love the fans but because you've got to be able to keep everybody at arm's length because every once in a while you're going to get a nut job. The only justice, as far as I'm concerned is that this nut case is no longer around to do this to anybody else.

The unfortunate thing about the judicial system, if you'll allow me, is that, if he were caught, somebody would bring up the point he had a troubled childhood and that we should rehabilitate him. And I'm not a fan of that, I have to say. Whether he was troubled or not, if you resort to violence and you kill somebody, you should be taken off the face of the earth.

Cosby: No, and it is — absolutely, I agree with you. How do you protect yourself, Gene? I mean you talk about this balance — you got so many wonderful fans, you in particular, you know, folks — and you want to have that access, you want to have that one-on-one. But then there's that wild one all of a sudden who does something horrible. How do you find that balancing act?

Simmons: You've got to be able to separate the fact from the fiction, the stage histrionics from the private life. When you walk down the street, you've got to be aware that everybody is not necessarily your best friend and then — you know, sometimes somebody is going to have an ulterior motive, which is why when you check into a hotel, you have to do it under an assumed name. And when you go some place big and public and where there are lots of people, you've got to take security with you both for legal issues. I mean if I did something with this fist to somebody who was getting in my face —- and I'm 6-foot-2. I'm not shy. If you get in my face, I'll take you out. You literally can't do that. You've got to be able to have a buffer, somebody else between you and somebody who's — you know who's being improper.

Celebrity is not everything that everybody believes it is. It is a precarious position in life. But, you know we do it because we love it.

Cosby: And Gene Simmons, we love you and thank you so much for coming here and talking about this. We appreciate it.

Simmons: I just want to say one last thing, which is.

Cosby: Yes, real quick if you could,

GeneSimmons: Our hearts and our best wishes go out to the family. He was a great guy. He's going to be sorely missed.

Cosby: Thank you, Gene, very much, and he definitely will. And we appreciate you're coming here. Thank you, Gene, very much."
[Comments]

December 15, 2004
KISS ON THE COVER OF "BRAVO" MAGAZINE
After a long time, Kiss are on the front-cover of "Bravo" magazine again. Well, sort of... worn by Sarah Connor on a T-shirt. It seems to be popular at the moment amongst celebrities to be seen in KISS T-shirts. Also supermodels Heidi Klum and Jana Ina were recently seen in public wearing a KISS T-shirt...

[Comments]

December 13, 2004
RARE PHOTOS
Here you can see some rare pictures from the Hotter than hell Photosession.
 
[Comments]

December 9, 2004
5 DEAD, 2 WOUNDED AT NIGHTCLUB-SHOOTING
Ex-Pantera member Dimebag Darrell was shot last night at a nightclub-shooting. For more infos click here. Dimebag Darrell was a huge Kiss fan and even had an Ace Frehley tattoo on his chest.

[Comments]

December 7, 2004
KISS IN THE PRESS
The new issue of "22nd century Rock magazine" (Winter 2004) has Paul Stanley on the cover and Gene in the centerfold. [Comments]

December 2, 2004
PAUL STANLEY SOLO CD RECORDINGS
(from www.kisskollector.com)
This month, Paul Stanley will be in the studio again to record some more songs for his upcoming studio album. Joining Paul in the studio will be former KISS lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, who Paul wants to help him record some tunes. Before KISS did the Rock The Nation Tour earlier this year, Bruce had already worked with Paul on songs and obviously Bruce heard some of the material back then. In April Bruce informed us that Paul "is writing some great material". But obviously, those tunes were too early to say what direction Paul is currently heading for. A release date for Paul’s second solo album is unknown at this point... [Comments]

December 2, 2004
KISSWORLD
Kissworld also met with Ex-Kiss guitarists Vinnie Vincent and Mark St. John to sign some stuff. Whoever wants to pay A$ 295,- for a signed Vinnie Vincent Lithograph, they can get it at Kissworld... [Comments]

P.S.: here's some promotional info about Kissworld from Kissonline:

We are starting to add on more Kiss collectibles exclusive to KISSWORLD and few rarer are Paul Stanley’s actual played on stage guitars from the Farewell Tour 2000/2001!! We have secured 6 of these direct from Paul and they come with signed certificates of authenticity and even detail of which city on the tour the guitar was used – there are even guitar picks still clinging to these! These are top of the line Washburn Paul Stanley models and at this time, there are only 6 available so check them out.

One of the most highly anticipated products that we have been preparing has been some cool items signed by none other than Vinnie Vincent! The survey page on the website showed many of you wanted Vinnie memorabilia – you wanted it – you got it! We spent some time with Vinnie back in August and he has kindly signed a stunning lithograph of himself live on stage during the Creatures of the Night 10th Anniversary Tour in full make up and costume. He has signed this lithograph in gold to match his Ankh make up design. This lithograph is numbered and limited to only 200 worldwide and is on top quality acid free archival paper and is a heavy 300gsm in weight. This will look amazing framed and Vinnie’s autograph is hard to come by with plenty of fakes out there. Come over to the website to see a photo of Vinnie taken after signing these items for us - this is the real deal! We also had Vinnie sign 4 different black and white 8x10’s as well – 2 in make up and 2 out of make up from his KISS time 1982-1984. There are only 100 of each of these 8x10’s and like the lithograph they all come with a Certificate of Authenticity. If you are a fan of Vinnie’s you wont want to miss these items and they are available NOW – and all are exclusive to KISSWORLD.

Twenty years ago, Animalize came out and was a return to platinum form for the band. With a new guitarist Mark St John, the band had a smash with Heaven’s On Fire. As everyone knows the tour started in the UK with Bruce Kulick filling in on guitar and ultimately becoming a full time member of the band later that year. 1984 – where has the time gone?! KISSWORLD has 100 promotional publicity black and white 8x10’s of Kiss from 1984 featuring Mark St John, hand signed by Mark available now and also 100 publicity promotional black and white 8x10’s of Kiss featuring Bruce Kulick, hand signed by Bruce available NOW on the website. Bruce has also given us a stunning full colour 8x10 of himself from the Revenge era that he has signed exclusively for us – and there are only 50 of these available. All signed product sold through KISSWORLD comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and you can see photos of Bruce and Mark signing for KISSWORLD on the site.

For those who missed out on the Kiss Symphony lithograph or couldn’t afford them when they were released, KISSWORLD has picked up a handful of these and they are available now on the website. They WERE retailing for $995 but are only $595 through KISSWORLD. These are very limited so get in early to avoid disappointment.

Don’t forget that the 2005 KISS Calendars are ON SALE NOW. These have been hugely successful and since they started shipping a couple of weeks ago, seems that the fans really love them! The 4 solo calendars come complete with a full size reproduction of the 1978 solo album mural posters that came with the US pressings of the albums way back then. The group calendar is jammed full of the original line up with a couple featuring Tommy and Eric and they are all available now, don’t forget the solo calendars are a limited print run, so don’t delay! These are KISSWORLD designed products!

There are many more exciting and exclusive products on the way soon, so keep checking in on the site! Keep Rockin’!

Regards
KISSWORLD

www.kissworld.com.au